Bartunkova upsets Sabalenka at China Open

This has to be the wildest WTA 1000 event of the year.

In a span of three days, the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked female tennis players in the world were already eliminated, and they didn’t even make it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

After Elena Rybakina, it was Aryna Sabalenka’s turn to sustain a massive upset loss, falling at the hands of No. 34 Nikola Bartunkova, 4-6, 3-6, in the Round of 32 of the China Open on Oct. 4, 2026, at the National Tennis Center in Beijing.

It was contrasting fates for both top seeds, as Rybakina was able to clinch a single set, while the Belarusian ace conceded an unexpected sweep that officially ended her campaign in China.

The opening set was full of drama and tense moments as Sabalenka had five break-point opportunities but squandered them all.

Her failure to capitalize on those opportunities cost her the opening set, and she was put under immense pressure when Bartunkova maintained her lead after securing a break in the first game.

A game away from formalizing the 1-0 lead, Bartunkova escaped a 15-30 hole in the ninth game, scored a down-the-line backhand and held serve, frustrating Sabalenka.

Questions then continued to surround Sabalenka’s response as Bartunkova’s resilience masterclass evidently took a toll on the No. 2’s performance at the start of the second set.

Tennis fans were already used to seeing Sabalenka strike back from poor first-set outings, but the match against Bartunkova was an isolated case as the Czech netter scored a break point in the third game to establish a 3-1 lead.

Unfortunately, Sabalenka piled up a series of unforced errors midway through the second set, allowing Bartunkova to seize the moment and grab another break point in the seventh game.

No matter how strongly Sabalenka ripped through the ball, the pumped-up Bartunkova maintained her tremendous defensive game, shutting down the No. 2’s down-the-line attacks with backhand flicks at the net and several clinical lobs.

Bartunkova capped her upset victory with 75 total points won, including four aces, three break points and 33 on the return.

On the other hand, Sabalenka concluded her China Open campaign with 62 total points won, four aces and 19 on the return.

Awaiting Bartunkova in the Round of 16 is Austrian challenger Sinja Kraus, who earlier defeated Dayana Yastremska, 6-1, 6-4.